1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for the removal of gases and/or liquids from a container.
2. Background Information
As part of the process of disposing of motor vehicles, the metal parts are separated from the plastic parts, to achieve the necessary degree of material purity for the melt-down process. For the melt-down process, all of the liquids must also be removed from the tanks and containers on a vehicle. Some of the tanks and containers have drain openings, e.g. the ones which contained fluids which had to be changed regularly, such as the coolant in the radiator. The opening of these drain openings, e.g. for the oil filter element, requires special tools which are not always available to the wrecking companies. Therefore the removal of liquids and gases can be a very tedious and time-consuming operation.
German Patent Application No. 41 13 460 C1 discloses an apparatus which penetrates the wall of the container by means of a tool. The tool in question is a drill which must be guided by an operator. One disadvantage of this process is the high amount of force which must be applied, since during drilling, the thrust must be supplied by the operator. It must also be borne in mind that the tanks and containers are very frequently made of materials which are quite hard. The apparatus of the prior art also drains the liquid, so that the operator is forced to keep holding the device until the tank or container is empty. The time required to perform this process makes it unlikely that it could ever be used efficiently.